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Cycling to Paris: ‘Climate Journey' to U.N. Conference

Morgan Curtis '14 says the idea of biking to COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference that takes place in Paris this November came to her as she sat by a woodstove this past winter.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Curtis was teaching at the Chewonki Semester School in Maine, which offers experiential environmental education to high school juniors. She was committed to grassroots climate advocacy and to the power of story telling, and wondered how she could combine her passions and call attention to what she saw as a critical moment: the opportunity for nations to reach an agreement on a treaty to address climate change.

"Climate Journey," as she calls her upcoming trip, grew from that vision: She would attend the conference, travel to it slowly, and along the way gather stories about individuals and communities mobilizing for action on climate change.Soon after announcing her plans, Curtis was named a youth delegate to the conference, representing SustainUS (US Youth for Sustainable Development).

"I will be inside the conference in an official capacity, advocating on behalf of youth and future generations for the strongest possible binding outcome," she says. "I think this adds great weight to my journey, as I'll be able to bring the stories and lessons from the trip into the conference space."

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